OSU FOOTBALL Buckeyes hoping to run past Penn St.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- For a blueprint of how to beat Penn State, No. 8 Ohio State only needs to look back one week.
After struggling offensively most of the season, the Buckeyes (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten) amassed 603 yards against Indiana, including 216 on the ground. Lydell Ross won Big Ten offensive player of the week after rushing for 167 yards and scored three touchdowns in that game.
Given the way Penn State (2-6, 0-4) has defended the run, a repeat would be a good sign for the Buckeyes.
"I think we have something to build on from last Saturday," Ross said, "and I think if we continue to not make too many mistakes and get better, it looks pretty successful."
Of course, even lowly Temple and Kent State looked pretty successful running the ball against Penn State, which is giving up more than 216 yards per game on the ground.
On paper, Ohio State might not seem like the best team to take advantage of that weakness. The Buckeyes average 122 rushing yards, and Ross and Maurice Hall have just two 100-yard games between them this year.
"We've struggled," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "We've had a lot of inconsistency. We've allowed ourselves to get behind in the count way too much with penalties and that kind of thing, and we have lack of consistency from a health standpoint as well. We've not been able to put it together like we'd like to."
But Penn State defensive end Scott Paxson said he's not lining up against Ohio State's statistics -- and he knows how good the Buckeyes can be.
"They've got some pretty big boys on the offensive line. They're big, they're strong, they're physical. It's going to be a great challenge for us as a defensive line this week," Penn State defensive tackle Scott Paxson said. "Their running backs -- they don't have Maurice Clarett back there, but their other running backs, they might be just as good.
Moreover, Paxson said, while the Buckeyes may not be gaining a lot of yards, they're getting them when it counts.
"They're a team that knows how to win," Paxson said. "They get the first downs when they need to get first downs. They run the ball when they need to run the ball. They throw the ball when they need to throw it. When they come in on Saturday, we just need to stop them."
Must cut down mistakes
That is, unless the Buckeyes stop themselves. Ohio State is losing almost 70 yards a game in penalties, and Tressel said his team will have to do a better job of holding on to the ball -- something they didn't do against Indiana.
"Lost in the 600 yards and all that stuff is the fact that we still turned the ball over three times, and that won't win at State College," Tressel said.
"We have to make sure that we do gain confidence from our execution on Saturday, both run and pass," Tressel said. But if Ohio State has three turnovers again, "we're going to have a problem," he said.